Brag Board

I don't want to blog about my life right now because report cards are due in less than two weeks and I'm stressing myself out so bad that I had a nightmare about school stuff last night. (It really isn't that bad if you look at it in the proper perspective, but I'd rather just avoid it for now and brag about my budding artists.)

This is Janae's African Textile print from her art class at school. I think we'll frame this one when it comes home. Her clown painting is a bit outdated and keeps falling from its spot in the playroom. I love the colors and textures in this one though. Janae has always had a creative streak in her. I remember a specific experience with her painting as a toddler. She blends colors well and arranges them in visually pleasing ways.

I can't remember the title of Anna's art piece, but it is another recent favorite of mine. She always has to use her favorite color (green) and she approaches art in a more organized way than Janae. What I like most about Anna's creations is the reflection of her personality. I can "feel" whether or not she enjoyed herself while creating her pieces. Maybe its a mom thing, but I think it's just a best friend thing.

Feb 7th and 66 Degrees in St. Louis

Enjoying the Beautiful Weather

My Lil Photographer

Well she looks innocent enough . . . right?! :)

I was playing around online when a couple of thoughts hit me all at once: 1. Daila is playing awfully quietly. 2. Last time I saw her, I had given her the digital camera to look at a picture of herself. 3. Where's the digital camera?

Well this is what she was doing when I checked on her:

Just playing with her dolly. And this is what I found on the digital camera:

Now just imagine about 75 more pictures just like that. Yep . . . 75!!!! :)

I guess looks can be deceiving.

My Crazy Weekend

Thursday: Family celebration of Ben's birthday. (See previous post.) :)

Friday: Adult celebration of Ben's birthday; dinner date and mall trip to buy new business attire for both of us. (Yippee for me! I get a present for Ben's birthday! ...or an early Valentine gift. Who cares, though. I got new clothes!!!)

Saturday: Ben builds a wall in the basement and I assist by keeping him company, keeping the girls out from underfoot, and avoiding all my other house chores. :P (Another gift for me . . . a warmer basement now that the concrete outer wall is insulated and covered with drywall.)

Sunday: Hmmm . . . Sunday morning Ben goes into work to print a handout for my young women class at church (which is 1-4 pm for us this year). Finds the fourth floor at Express-Scripts has flooded because of a sprinkler head bursting and water is draining down all floors of the building. So he is called into work there to move the technology (i.e. computers, phones, etc.) off of the flooded floor so proper clean up can be done and the corporation will be able to have its employees working at stations come Monday morning. Which means Ben has to call a friend to cover at his second job that he was supposed to do Sunday evening. (Thanks, Jorge).

Linda makes Mexican Delight to take over to a friends house for a Super Bowl party that evening. She survives church sans husband and with Daila with her throughout her lesson (mainly because her girls are so helpful and reverent). Thanks, girls!! Puts the casserole in the oven as soon as she gets home and gets ready for a evening of fun with new friends . . . but still sans husband who is sloshing around with computer equipment. :( Okay . . . so I know that going places takes longer for me without Ben's help to herd the sheep, but I'm doing okay . . . not stressing it . . . looking forward to downtime. But still . . . it's time to go! So I start shooing the girls out the door with everyone carrying something when I notice several things at once. Anna is leading the way in long sleeves, but no coat . . . in January . . . in the evening. Daila is following her example. Shoot! Go back in and grab Daila's coat . . . trip over the blanket that is in the middle of the floor . . . get frustrated at the clutter that I am now noticing the girls' have left in the past 30 min . . . quickly shrug it off grab the stuff and shut the door . . . . . . . . and realize that the keys are still inside. Grrreat. *sigh* This is where I beat myself up a bit because I have done this soooo often, but never in the cold, with a daughter without a coat, and having fasted all day. Needless to say I'm a bit grumpy now. I didn't handle myself too well at first. Trying to blame it on the girls' untidy behavior which distracted me. I figure we ought to go walking at the very least so Anna will be warmer (and I did have the blanket that I tripped over). And Janae, being helpful and everyone feeling bad, picked up the casserole . . . and dumped it onto the sidewalk. Now she feels awful. What are we going to do? I'm too grumpy to call anyone right away and too pouty because I wanted to go play with friends. So, although it may not have been the best option, we opted to walk to our nearby Applebees for a warm cozy dinner. Once I settled down a bit, I did call some friends and we came up with what would have been wonderful solutions. Oh well . . . . It turned out to be a nice girls' night out. I got to watch some of the game at the restaurant and our server provided my downhearted girls with some dessert on the house. (Helped make up for the casserole on the sidewalk.) And I learned some very valuable life lessons:

1. NEVER place the blame on your kids . . . even if you think you are teaching them responsibility. You are just rationalizing your own behavior. The first thing I should have said was, "It's okay. We're going to figure this out together."

2. ALWAYS find something positive to focus on in the midst of a trial. "We may not make it to the party . . . so we're going to have to make our own fun."

3. Laugh when you feel it can't get any worse. (And remember it can always get worse.)

4. Smile a lot. Your children are watching you closely when you are in crisis.

5. Even though you act happy, look for the positive, and smile . . . your children will still know that you are upset and stressed. They will still learn from your circumstances to be more tidy, to take their coat in the winter evenings, to hold foil pans more carefully or ask for help, and always remind their mom to take her keys without you being grumpy about it. They will learn from your positive example just as well. I promise.

6. And my favorite, be honest with your server . . . you may get free dessert.

So even though I could have responded better, we still made lemonade from our lemons and we bonded together as Voelkel girls. It was a great day. I wouldn't change it for the world.

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Celebrating Ben's Birthday

I think Daila enjoyed it the most. But we all enjoyed it more watching her excitment with the giant balloons, decorating the posters, and of course the birthday cake. She LOVES to sing the "Happy Birthday" song and blow at the candles . . . any day of the year. :)